How to Become a Millionaire

Working Woman Report is the source for stories about women in business, women in leadership, and news about empowering women.
It's updated daily and curated by Emmy Award Winning Journalist, Allison Haunss.

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What do you picture when you hear the word “millionaire?” Perhaps a well-groomed senior, lounging in a bathrobe, sipping champagne and overlooking acres of achievement from the portico of a mansion? You think you can never be a millionaire. But what if you can?

Becoming one is actually simpler than you think. You may well be rich already. If you make $20,000 in net income every year, you’re among the top 3.65% richest people in the world, according to Globalrichlist.com.

Simple tasks on the road to riches are not always easy. They can be effective:

1. Work smarter and harder than your competition. Identify your competition. What differentiators can you bring to your workplace or market?

First, work smarter. There’s no sense in selling ice cream on your front lawn in the dead of winter. Instead, set up a booth at the park in the sizzling summertime. Commonsense changes can greatly improve your effectiveness.

And we’ve all seen colleagues who work harder than anyone. Aren’t they the ones promoted? Don’t they often become the office linchpins?

Early in my career, I was in a training class of some 55 people. A year later, our class was fewer than half that. By my fifth anniversary on the job, only five of us remained.

Most weren’t willing to put in the hard work required. Don’t fear hard work.

Learn from your mistakes and move on. Did you get suckered into two companies that went nowhere? Did you sink $8,000 into an online business venture, only to lose it all? These are just a couple of several investment mistakes I made.

Mistakes are difficult to swallow. The best way forward: Admit we fumbled. Are you willing to admit your mistakes?

Some people beat themselves up after a goof, paralyzing their thinking from future decisions that might produce success. As IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad said, “Only those who are asleep make no mistakes.”